Stop-signal for cars.



A. H. &D. H. KIRK.

STOP SIGNAL FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-24.19MB- 1,262,675.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

@4 44 s- Z/binesses. O fl' fi -A. H. &n. H. KIRK. STOP-SIGNAL FOR CARS. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 24,1916. 1

' Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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25 o v V v v v I l{llllll: .i v I v W%w5@5. 1 c wwvfmsi UNITED sTA rnsrnr OFFICE.

ALVA n. KIRK-AND 'DONAILD n. KiRk, or Mmnmmbns, ivnm'msom STOLP S'J'SGNA L FOR To all whom concern:

Be it known that we, ALVAVH. :KIRK and I DONALD H. ;citiz'ens 0f the United States, residing atMinneapol-is, *in thecounty stop signal for street ears; and to such *Tends,

genera-11y stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and ,;combina-tio ns of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

The signal device itself involves novel features, but the invention consists further in a novel coeperative connection between the same and the gate actuating device of the car. It is now the commonpracticeto equip street cars with stop signals, including electrically actuated 'bells and circuits "with push buttons properly distributed throughout the car. With such vsystems, when the travel is heavy, and a good many people desire to get oil at the same. street, it frequently happens that the bell will be kept most of the time, which is not only 'o'bjectionably noisy :but uses up an unneces sary amount of current.

The present invention provides a visual stop indicator, either with or without a ?bell-,

andan arrangement wherein the signal device is actuated by first closihg of the circuit produced by the first pressing of a button, so that repeated pressing of the same or other buttons will not again "close the circuit and will have no further effect on the set signal.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views. v

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is horizontal section with some parts broken away, showing the improved stop signal applie to a street car and cons nected to "gate actuating mechanism sof the character disclosed in U. S. Patent 546,116,

grantedto-Willard J. Hield, of date, Septem-her 10th, 1895, and entitled Street car :7 V gate in; .An

with some parts broken away;

Specificationof-iietters ialtent. -Pgjt-Qfitgfl A1513 1 1:918,

aspplication filed January 24,1916. S ria1 No.73,7-82.

Fig. 2 is .a plan view showing in detail the operating connectionbetween the stop signal and .gate actuating crank;

Fig. 53 is a view partly in elevation and actuating crank post and the .stop signal vi Fig. 4 is a front elevation of thestop signal, I v

Fig. 5 is a similar View .to Fig. 4, but

Figs. (land 7 are viewsin rear .eleva ion showing the stop signal with the rear plate of the case removed and with some parts broken away; and

, Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic-view showing the wires of the electricalconnections.

The numeral 1 indicates the rnain coinp'artment, the numeral -2 the front end vestibule, and the numeral 3 the rear end vestibule of an inclosed passenger carsuch asused on street railways and interurban systems. The numeral 4L indicateshinged gates for opening and closing theentrance to the rear endvestibule 3. The han-ger rods of these fgates are provided, below the steps ,5 with arms 6 that are connected by a link 7, the front end of the said link being connected to a long operating rod 8 The operating rod 8 extends below the floor of the car body and is vconnected to arms 9 of a crank rod 10 that is journaled in suitab e Fig 1 and 2, but being removed in Fig.

3. This :gate actuating-device is that disclosed in the above noted l-Iield patent, and for the purposes of this case, it is only necessary to state that when the crank 1-2 is turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, the gates will be opened and when the said crank is given approximately one-half rotation, win close the gates :and throw the arms *9 and operating rod 8 into a dead center relation so that the gates will then be locked.

For applying the stop signailto a; car of the above character, the box casing 13 thereof is suitably secured within the front end vestibule 2 in position where it will be in front of the 'motorman. The fro-ntplate of the casing isp-reiferably removable and it is formed with a horizontal slot 14. through which the stop signal may be readily seen "by the motorman. Mounted within the eas- V partly in vertical section showing the gate ing 13 and held for vertical sliding move-. ments by, a suitable guide casing 15, is a thin fiat indicator plate 16, preferably made of sheet metal. On the face of this indicator plate 16 is printed, painted, or otherwise marked, the word Stop which'will be exhibited through the opening 14, when, and only when, the signal plate is dropped.

Secured to a supporting 'lug 17 on the guide casing 15 is an electro-magnet 18 that acts upon an armature lever 19 pivoted toa bearing 20 also in the said guide casing 15. This armature lever 19 is yieldingly retracted from the electro-magnet by a light coiled spring 21 attached to the lower end thereof, and to a projection of the bearing 20. When the indicator plate 16 is raised and the armature lever 19 is retracted, said plate will be held in such raised position by the engagement of the upper end of said armature lever with a latch lug 22 on the said signal plate. Here it may be noted that the back of the guide casing 15 is cut away at 23 to afford clearance for movements of the lugs 22 when the indicator plate 16 is raised and lowered.

On the back of the guide casing 15 is a block 24 of insulating material to which is secured laterally spaced contact fingers 25, the free ends of which are in contact with the lug 22 (which latter is of metal) when the indicator plate is in its raised position. The electric circuits for energizing the magnet 18 may be the same, or substantially the same as those at present employed for operating the signal bells, but in the drawings, Fig. 8, We have diagrammatically shown a signal circuit 26 connected to the said magnet and including a source of energy 27, a push button 28 and the separated contacts 25. WVith this arrangement, as is evident, the magnets will be energized when, and only when the circuit is closed by engagement of the lug 22 with the contact fingers 25, and by pressing together of the contact elements of the push button 28.

Normally, the indicator plate 16 will be inits raised position shown in Fig. 5 and the word Stop on the said platewill be above the slot 14 so that a blank surface of the said indicator plate will be presented to the opening 14. When the magnet 18 is energized, it will pull toward it the upper portion of the armature lever 19, thereby releasing the same from the lug 22 and permitting the indicator plate 16 to drop by gravity into the positon shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, where it will present the word Stop in view of the opening 14.

When the said plate drops and the lug 22 moves out of engagement with the contact fingers 25, the magnet circuit will be broken and the magnet denergized, so that no further current will be used until the signal plate'has been again raised and the push button pressed. All that the magnet is called upon to do is to trip the signal plate and that requires but the slightest electrical impulses. the stop signal, others press the same or other push buttons, no further electrical or other actions will be produced and there will be no waste of current.

The indicator plate may be reset by hand when desired," but by a novel connection to thegate actuating mechanism, it is arranged to be set automatically, or by anoperation performed primarily forjanothef purpose, to-wit, the opening and closing of the gates. This connection is preferably made as follows:

On the crank rod 10 of the gate actuating mechanism is a cam 29 that operates on the roller-equipped head 30 of thepush rod 31, the end of which works telescopically in the horizontal end portion of a guide tube 32, the lower portion of which is fixed to a suit able bearing 33 on the bracket 11, and the other end of which is vertically extended and attached 'to the bottom of the casing. 13. The elbow portion of this bent tube 32 is curved and is filled with small balls 34. Telescoped into the vertical upper portion of the guide tube 32 is a second push rod 35 that extends upward into the case 13 and terminates in a head 36 that is adapted to per end of the said push rod 35. The push rods 31 and 35 and interposed balls 34 afford a highly eflicient flexible push, rod which will work with a minimum of frict1on. rod is lowered, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it affords a stop for limiting the downward movement of the signalplate 16. When the crank rod 10 is oscillated to open and again close the gates, the cam 29, acting on the roller-equipped head 30 of the push rod, will raise the upper end head 36thereof, and cause the latter to again raise the. said indicator plate to a position into which. it will be latched byreengagement of the armature 13 and a clapper 41 is intermediately pivoted to the back of the casing just below the bell.

If, after one person has given Normally, the head 36' of the push This clapper, at its long end, has a bellengaging clapper headQ, and at its short end, has a laterally projecting finger 48 that Will be engaged by the lower edge of the indicator plate 16 When the latter is dropped, as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, when the signal plate is dropped, one rap Will be given to the bell. Attention is here called to the fact that in Fig. 3, the end of the finger -13 is broken 0H for clearness, but that it is, in

fact, long enough to reach under the loWer edge of the signal plate 16, so that it Will be 7 engaged, as shown in Fig. 6.

WVhat We claim is:

1. The combination With a car having a gate and gate-actuating mechanism extended to and operative from a point remote from said gate, of a stop indicator, means for operatingsaid stop indicator at will, and means for re-setting said stop indicator by operation of the extended gate actuating mechanism.

2. The combination With a car having a gate and a gate actuating mechanism extended to and operative from a point remote from said gate, of a visual indicator under strain to move in one direction, a latch for normally holding said indicator against movement, means operative, at Will, to trip said latch and to release said indicator, and a resetting device operated by gate operating movements of said extended gate actuating mechanism for restoring said indicator to normal position.

3. The combination With a car having a gate and a gate actuating mechanism, of a visual indicator under strain to move in one direction, a latch for normally holding said indicator against movement, means operative, at Will, to trip said latch and to release said indicator, a resetting device operated by gate operating movements of said gate actuating mechanism for restoring said indicator to normal position, the said resetting device comprising a tube having straight end and curved intermediate portions, rods Working telescopically in the straight ends of said tube, balls in the curved portion of said tube between the inner ends of said push rods, and a cam operative onthe end of one of said push rods, and a cam connected to the said gate actuating mechanism and operative on the end of one of said push rods.

In testimony whereof We aflix our signatures in presence of two wltnesses.

ALVA H. KIRK. DONALD H. KIRK.

Witnesses:

HARRY D. KILGORIJ, A. D. MERCHANT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of IPatents, Washington, D. 0. 

